14 days and counting

Tomorrow it will be exactly 14 days  two weeks  since Ive done anything in the shop. Thats the longest Ive gone without working out there since I can remember.

My work demands right now are all office-based, and after wrapping up a photo-heavy project on Sept. 7, Ive barely walked out there. My office, meanwhile, is in the same total-mess state my shop usually is when things are going hot and heavy out there. But while Im spending hours in the office right now, my shop is quiet and spotlessly clean.

This has happened before, of course, where the assignments and jobs settle out such that more of them are office-bound than shop-bound, but during those times Ive always done something out there, if only needing to grab a screwdriver and perform a quick household repair or two. This time, though, theres been nothing to do out there. In fact, when I do get back to doing shop work (which Ill need to do next week for no fewer than three projects I have to get started on for delivery next month), Ill probably have to clean up the dust. This time, though, itll be that regular household dust that settles on unused stuff, not sawdust.

I usually get withdrawal when I go this long without shop work, but for some reason this time around Im kind of enjoying it. For one thing, I have a ton of office/computer stuff to get done and its occupying not only my time, but also my overall mindset. For another, its just a nice break from splinters and a sore back. However, although Im not going through outright withdrawal, I am starting to get antsy to get back out there.

And when that happens, itll be back to bedlam-central out in the shop, and my office will be spotless. Opposite sides of the same coin, I guess.

A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.